Fuel feeding system for internal combustion engines



Oct, 18, 1932 Y ARE- DMOND 1,882,896

FUEL'FEEDNG'SYSTM FR INTERNAL coMBUsTIoN ENGINES Filed bec. le, 1926 5 sheets-sheet 1 AOct. 18, 1932.

AQ G. REDMOND FUEL Fb'EDING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINESl Filed Dec. 16, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7- P50/Momo.

Oct. 18, 1932. A, G, REDMOND 1,882,896

FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Dec. 16, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I um,

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Oct.- 18, l A G REDMOND 1,882,896

FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL cQMBUsTIoN ENGINES Filed Dec. 1e, 192e 5 sheets-sheet 4 P icl?, 4Z.

A. G. REDMOND 1,882,896

Oct. 18, 1932.

FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Dec. 16, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 mntoc Pramo/V0.

Patented Oct. 18, 1932 UNITED. STATES PATENT orrlcE Y ALBERT e. REDMOND, ory FLINT, MICHIGAN, AssIGNoR To JACOB RICHARD FRANCIS, or FLINT, MICHIGAN' FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM' FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Application led December 16, 1926. Serial No. 155,201.

This invention relates'toimprovements iny fuel feeding'systems forinternal combustion engines'usedwith;automobiles and the like, and particularly to a novel pump for drawing fg, liquid fuel from thesupplyxtank and .feeding the fuelainto theioatl chamber of the ordinary carburetor;

One ofthe primary objects of the invention is to provide a feedl pump in the fuel line 1n between the ordinarysupply tank andthe carburetor, and continuously operated fromV a moving partof the engine, .this'pump being designedt'o maintain afsubstantially Constant supplyiof fuel ina. relatively small reservolr.

1i Meansarei combined Withthisreservoir to cause the pump to cease pumping; the fuel, andto commence pumping air,xas soon as the fuel level in the reservoir'reaches a certain height.`

Another'objectiof the inventionV is to furnish a fuel pumpfor automobiles, adaptedY to be actuated froln one of:` the valve push rods ofv they engine, suchy pump taking/the place vof the ordinaryvaeuum tanknovv generally` used with automobile engines.

A further obj ect'is to furnish a fuelpump having aV Check valve in its inlet' line, to prevent' the -fuelfromrunning from the supply tank through'ztlie pump andioverflwing,

.so when the fuel supply happens to be higher than thepump, asin-going dovvnfa steep hill.

Another object of this inventioniis to providea fuel pumpof: the valved-piston type, all: valvesf of which aret rigid andE positively operated, due toI differences in pressure at op posite' sides of i each 1 valve.

A still further objeotis' toV socombine the pump and tauxili ary reservoir with afloat con; trolled valve, so thatfthe fuel level inthe auxiliary reservoir will govern the supply. of air into`the pump', when it is necessary to-cease pumpingfuel,andtostart'pumping air. This allows `vair to be admitted-to the pump and circulated'tlirough theva'lves instead of'dravvingV fuel from the main supply tank.

The'presentinvention Vhas been constructed as ain-attachment for engines' vnovvin use, the device lbeingattaehable.to the engine WithoutY any alteration of the' latter. The pump is I0 preferably built in the valve covenplate ar'- ranged at the side of the engine block. This provides a very economical construction and places the pump in an out-of-the-Way lplace Where it will be Well protected.

A further object is to provide the auxiliary reservoir With an opening for use in filling the reservoir at the beginning of operations, this opening being normally closed-by a removable plug. The auxiliary reservoir is also provided With a. combined vent aperture and over-fiow hole, arranged slightly above the normal fuel level, and functioning as a safety feature in case the pump should for any reason, fail to properly function. Thisoverflow hole Will permit the fuel to be pumped to the outside ofthe engine Whenever this becomes necessary.V v

With.- the foregoing objects outlined and Withother objects in vieu7 which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustratedin the accom'- panying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the' appended claims.

' Referring to the drawings:

Fig.y l is a vertical sectional view of a standard type of engine provided vviththe improved fuel feeding device. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of th fuelv feeding device taken through the pump cylinder F ig. 3 is asimilar view taken at rightangles to the view shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. Aiis a vertical sectional View of a modiiied form Cf pump.

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken at right'angles' to the view shown in Fig. 4i

In the drawings, l indicates a standard type motor vehicle engine having'theusual carburetor 2, and intake valves 3 (only one of Which is shown). @designates .one of the pistons, and 5 the crank shaft. K 6 indicates the `valve actuating shaft Which reciprocates the valve push-rods 7; This type of engine has'cover plates 8 at one side to enable the operator to gain access to the push-rods. For the purpose of the present invention, one of these Cover plates 8 may be modified or be replaced by acover plate of special design. As shown, an auxiliary reservoir 9y is attached to the inner side of the plate by means of solder or the like, and a pump 10, in this reservoir pumps the fuel from the main supply tank (not shown), at the rear of the automobile, to the carburetor 2. To carry out this purpose, a pipe line 11 is extended from the main supply tank to an inlet nipple 12, which is preferably threaded to the pipe. This nipple screws into an inlet connection 14 and is provided with fuel passageways 15, controlled by a check valve 16. The latter has a stem 17 guided in the nipple 12, and it is normally held to its seat by au spring 18.

When the pump is in operation, it will draw fuel past this check valve into the reservoir 9. The check valve also prevents the fuel from running through the pump and overflowing when the fuel supply tank happens to be higher than the pump, as in going down a steep hill.

The inlet connection 14 is preferably integral with the pum-p cylinderv 19, and fixed in the lower portion of this cylinder is the inlet valve 2O of the pump. This valve is preferably of the tapered disk type, and cooperrates with a valve seat on a ring 21, which has a stop 22 to limit the upward movement of the valve.

A hollow piston 23 operates in the cylinder, and is provided at its lower end with a tapered valve 24, mounted in a cage 25 which is fixed to the piston. This cage carries a stop 26 to limit the opening of the valve 24.

A cross pin 27 is connected to the upper end of the piston and joined to a piston rod 28, the upper end of which engages a pin 29, carried by a clamp 30 which is detachably secured to the valve push-rod 7.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the device forming the subject matter of this invention, may be readily attached to the engine Without alteration of the latter, but of course, if desired, the engine might be spe- I cially built to accommodate the new fuel feed unit.

'Vhile the engine is in operation, the pushrod 7 will, of course, be reciprocated, and this will cause the pump to draw the fuel through the line 11, and to discharge the same through the piston 23. As soon as the fuel in the reservoir 9 has reached a desired level, it will act upon the float 31, and this will cause air to be fed through the pump instead of fuel,

. in the manner which will now be described.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the lower end of thepump cylinder is provided with a laterally extending air passageway 32, terminating in an upwardly projecting nipple 33. A vertical tube 34 has its lower end connected to the part 33, and its upper end extending above the normal fuel level, so that no fuel can pass into this tube from above. Located in the tube is a valve seat 35, cooperating with a needle valve 36, connected by a staple 37 to the float 31. The needle valve is of less diameter than the internal diameter of the tube 34, and consequently, when the float is raised sufficiently, to lift the valve off its seat, air

which is admitted into the reservoir 9 through the vent 38, will enter the? air passageway 32 and be fed into the lower end of the pump cylinder. Consequently, fuel will not be continuously pumped, even though the pump*V is continuouslyoperating The fuel is fed from the auxiliary reservoir 9, by gravity through the conduit 39, to the carburetor 2.

An ordinary cork gasket 40 is arranged between the Cover plate 3 and the engine block, and the cover plate may be held in place by the usual screws employed for this purpose. The cork gasket prevents overheating ofthe reservoir 9. A i

summarizing the operation, it will be' seen that while the engine is in action, the pushrod 7 will reciprocate and cause reciprocation of the piston 23 of the pump. This'will cause the fuel to be drawn through the pipe 11 and into the auxiliary reservoir-9. Vhen the level of the fuel in this-reservoir rises to a certain height, the float 31 will move upwardly and allow air above the fuel level to feed into the lower end of the pump cylinder. As long as the float remains up, the pump will circulate air instead of fuel.

As long as the engine is running, the pump is operating, pumping-either air or fuel, sov that it is a very positive arrangement. Thev fuel cannot drain backinto therear tank over night, as the vent tube 34, and cylinder are placed high in the reservoir. Furthermore, the pump has plenty of time to prime itself, since there is over a pint of fuel in the reservoir to operate the engine when starting. In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the general construction is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, but the details are quite different. VIn this form, the. cover plate is bulged outwardly, so as to form about one-half of the auxiliary reservoir 51. Furthermore, the inlet connection 52 is in a lower position, and its passageway 53 inclines downwardly at the inner end, into communication with a sediment chamber 54 which may be reached when the plug 55 is removed. ln this embodiment, the stop'56 for the inletv valve 57 is connected to the stem of its valve, and it coacts with an abutment surface on the valve cage 58. I

The outlet valve 59 and its cage 60 are also constructed slightly different from that shown in the other form, but the valve functions'in the same manner asin the form first described.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, I have provided the pump cylinder with an upwardly extending tube 61, the upper end of which is above the fuel level in the reservoir.

The reservoir in this instance, has a lling opening, closed by a threaded plug 62, and at the be "inning of operations, the reservoir may be filled through this hole. In this form of the invention, I have also provided the cover plate with a downwardly and outwardly inclined port 63, which functions to admit air into the reservoir above the fuel level. This port also serves another and important purpose. If for any reason, the pump should continue to pump fuel after tne fuel line had reached J(he predetermined level desired, this excess fuel will overflow to the outside of the engine and will thus be prevented from flowing through the vent 6% to the inside of the engine.

The fuel is supplied to the reservoir through the pipe 65, and is discharged to th-e carburetor through the pipe 66.

F rom the foregoing, it may be seen that the fuel pump which I have devised is operated mechanically and positively in both directions, by the push-rod of the engine, and as the level of the fuel in the reservoir is about seven inches above the carburetor fuel level, this will allow a suflicient static head at all times.

Numerous objections to fuel feeding devices heretofore known, are apparently overcome by the present construction, since the pump is self lubricating, self priming, noiseless, simple and inexpensive in construction, readily understood by automobile mechanics, easily install-ed without changing the design of the engine, not affected by Avibration or temperature, has no fabric or flexing members liable to puncture or get out of order, furnishes fuel to the carburetor before the engine is cranked, does not differ in principle from the ordinary system of supplying fuel to the carburetor by gravity, and will last indefinitely.

I am aware that changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the claims.

IVhat I claim and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent is:

l. In fuel feeding means for internal combustion engines, a push-rod, a. cover plate arranged adjacent to the push-rod, a fuel reservoir arranged on the inn-er side of the plate, a fuel feeding pump for forcing fuel into the reservoir having a reciprocating piston rod, and means for connectinfy said piston rod to the pushrod.

2. In fuel feeding means for internal Acombustion engines, al push-rod, a cover plate, a fuel reservoir arranged on the inner side of the cover plate, a pump arranged in the reservoir and adapted to force fuel into the latter, said pump including a reciprocating piston, and means connecting the piston and pushrod, and adapted to be reciprocated in a plane by said push-rod.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiin my signature.

ALBERT G. REDMOND. 

